2 Timothy 2:3-4 3Be a co-sufferer as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4No one serving as a soldier becomes entangled in life activities, so that he might please the one who enlisted him.
Any type of ministry can be difficult. For many early Christians, their faith in Christ brought suffering. Paul experienced much suffering through his travels and defended his ministry with a long catalogue of his trials in 2 Corinthians 11:16-33. His suffering indicated his faithfulness to his calling. His invitation to Timothy to join him in suffering assumes the same faithfulness.
Paul uses three illustrations of faithfulness to one’s mission and purpose in the following verses. The first is a good soldier. Military themes and illustrations are common in the Bible, and Paul uses this image in Romans 6:13; 7:23; 1 Corinthians 9:7; 2 Corinthians 6:7; 10:3-4; Ephesians 6:11-18; Philippians 2:25; Philemon 2. The definition of a good soldier is given in verse 4. The word entangled (empleketia) gives the image of how a soldier might get tripped up by his sword.
A soldier could also become distracted by involvement in the activities that pre-occupy the civilian population, such as making a living, taking care of food, mending clothes, raising a family, and so forth. These “things of life” are all important but could blur the soldier’s focus of obeying orders and doing his duty of protecting the population. The focus on soldiering could bring suffering. Romans soldiers of that era, for example, had many hardships with long marches, rigorous training, and certain deprivations.
Some ministers need to be bi-vocational in order to support themselves and their families. But in such cases, their focus must still be on the ministry. All the things of life support their primary calling. A ministry leader must be willing to set aside certain activities of life in order to fulfill the mission. That does not mean that a minister must live in poverty or not enjoy life but must not let the things of the world become a distraction.
The motive of being focused as a soldier is to please his recruiter. Both Paul and Timothy were recruited into God’s army by Christ. He is the one to please by being faithful to one’s duty, even if that means suffering. The key theme of these verses is faithfulness and honor to one’s calling. These verses are application not only to a minister but to all believers. These verses assume the total commitment of sanctification in order to please our commander in chief.
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